Funeral for an Assassin

Goodness, only three stars out of ten on IMDb as of July 2008. This is one of the Treeline/Reelmedia Action Classics, originally made in 1977, re-released in 2004 on DVD. Starring Vic Morrow as Michael Cardiff, in a great disguise, "Funeral for an Assassin" opens with someone getting hit by a bus, and the South African police jumping headfirst into the investigation. Costars Sam Williams, Gaby Getz, and Peter VanDissel. Some great photography of South Africa, city scenes and countryside. But SO much talking. yakkity yakkity yak. and the plot seems overly complicated. The music all sounds like its from the "Mark Goodson, Bill Todman productions" or from the Streets of San Francisco, lots of trumpets and bongos. Ivan Hall only directed four more films after this one, all about killings... one way to spend an hour and a half....i guess..

This is a very unusual film. An American actor (Vic Morrow) is starring in a South African production during the height of apartheid. It's unlikely such a film would have been made a decade or so later, as the cruelty of the South African government became a HUGE cause for Hollywood in the 1980s. But even before this became a huge cause, very few Americans acted in South African films--very few. Off the top of my head, apart from Vincent Price (in "The Jackals") I can't think of any other South African made films during the apartheid era with American stars--this just wasn't normally done in this rather isolated country.

Vic Morrow stars as Michael Cardiff--a very cold-blooded assassin. When one of his associates is captured by the South African government, he must kill the guy to keep him from talking. But, being an assassin, he has other, bigger, game--including a judge. Along the way, this killer has no compunctions and kills the innocent provided they get in his way. Can he be stopped? And, can the only cop (Peter van Dissel) who takes this threat seriously keep both his marriage alive as well as himself?

While this is not a terrible film, it does feature some dumb portions--especially when Cardiff is in black-face in order to sneak past security! With his European looks, Morrow looked just like a white guy in black paint--and it made me laugh. It also was hard because although the film wanted me to root for the government to stop Cardiff, because they were such a repressive country I felt ambivalent--as both sides were pretty nasty. Additionally, while a film about an assassin SHOULD be exciting, this one was pretty dull--and certainly not another "Day of the Jackal".

By the way, I did find it interesting that EVERYONE in the film...EVERYONE spoke English. In fact, most of the folks' English was impeccable which is unusual because English is not even close to being the most common language in the country (Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans are more commonly spoken). I would have at least expected a few to speak these languages, as when I visited the country, I heard LOTS of languages other than English (though it's a very, very common second language).

This is one of those movies that you won't see on TV in most countries anymore, it could have been an average late night time filler. Reasonably well made c-grade stuff (but dated looking) with some good actors, but the one thing that it contains that will have you looking twice is the Star Vic Morrow "blacking up" more than once in the movie to pass as a local and apparently getting away with it (with the actors on screen at least). The film itself is a bit overlong and not really anything special, and something you will find on lots of those budget 50 or 100 "movie packs" on DVD. I wouldn't advise you looking for it as its far more 'talky' than action, like a strange episode of a 70's cop show thats more than double the length it should be but with no extra budget or script. Im waffling on now just to fill the space required for reviews here, but let me finish by saying this is a strange curiosity from a bygone age.

Tawdry tale of former revolutionary (Morrow) believed to be deceased, now taking on the establishment as an exclusive assassin, whose next mission is to cancel the ticket of a retired judge (Mynhardt) en route to an even bigger catch; unless intense internal security Captain (Van Dissel) can crack the code and take him down. Sounds appealing, and while the storyline is basically coherent, and the film technically competent, the pace and action are sorely lacking.

Very talky, the moments that should evoke suspense fail the test and consequently, the film labours to its climax. Morrow is assured in his role as the "chameleon" of sorts (he dons an Al Jolson face as a disguise to blend in with the indigenous population) and Van Dissel seems like a can-do actor - it's a shame they didn't have better direction as you could imagine how much better the material could have been handled. There's a strained romantic plot swerve between Van Dissel and Getz which adds a bit more melodrama to the already soporific pace, so fortunately Sam Williams isn't bad as Morrow's trusted right-hand man, indispensable until he becomes expendable.

Shot in South Africa, there's plenty of texture in the scenery, the dialogue is functional and realistic, and the characterisations have some depth - but the end result is like being at a funeral; it's slow and miserable. Should have been better, but maybe worth a look if you enjoy a B-grade espionage caper.

Vic Morrow stars as Michael Cardiff, a professional assasin who seeks revenge on those responsible for his past prison sentence. By disguising himself as a black South African, he sets his plan while foiling the police. Van Dissel plays the cop, Roos who is dedicated and stops at nothing. Nicely filmed in South Africa complete with period music, clothes, and cars. I reccomend it highly to those who enjoy films set in Africa (The Wild Geese, Dogs of War, Fatal Assasin) Good action scenes and vintage depiction of apartheid Suid Afrika.